labyrinth
by ulstergirl
Summary: Ned makes a special request for his tenth birthday party, and it just won't be the same without his best girl friend there.


"So what would you like to do for your birthday party this year?"

Ned looked up at his mother, fork poised over his plate of scrambled eggs and bacon, and grinned. He would be turning ten in a few weeks, and he was beyond excited. "Camping!"

Ned's father chuckled. "Of course," he replied. "Well, we'll just have to cross our fingers for good weather."

Ned had gone camping for the first time with the boy scouts over the summer. He had loved everything about it. He had loved staying up late and talking with the other boys. Once the leader had been asleep, four of them had snuck out to go exploring, and Ned had gone with them just to keep an eye on them. They had climbed trees and looked up at the stars, and they scared each other at every chirp and snap in the woods around them. They had crossed a small stream and collected pebbles, and pretended they were pirates out looking for hidden treasure.

When Ned had come home from the camping trip, he had been full of stories to tell Nancy, who was his best girl friend. She had been amazed by the adventure of it, and had said several times that she wished she could do that too. She was eight years old, though, and her troop didn't take girls camping until they were ten years old.

Ned often felt bad for Nancy. She was the bravest, most courageous kid he knew, and she even seemed to be braver than some adults. Her father was always busy, though, and so he couldn't take her on trips the way Ned's father did, fishing and kayaking and seeing their family. Her mother had died when Nancy was a little girl, and even though she had Hannah, that wasn't the same thing as having a mom.

Sometimes, when Nancy's father was going to be out of town, Nancy stayed at Ned's house. Ned loved having friends over; he had always wanted a brother or sister. He had mentioned that to his parents a few times, and then his father had told him that his mother was very sad she couldn't give him a little brother or sister, and Ned didn't want to make his mother sad by talking about it. She was happy when he had friends over, though.

Nancy would have been an amazing sister. She had confided in him that sometimes she was scared, but she didn't let that stop her from doing what she felt she needed to do, and that was one of the things that Ned thought was incredible about her.

"So who do you want to invite on the camping trip? If everything works out," Ned's mother added quickly.

Ned's grin widened. "Mike! And Robbie, and Nick. And Les, and Joey. And Nancy."

Ned's parents looked at each other, and he didn't understand what the look meant, but he could sense they were about to say no to something. Maybe he had said too many people.

"Honey," Ned's mother said, "I know you want to invite Nancy, but... she might be uncomfortable around that many boys. Why don't you invite her over for dinner around the same time, a few days before or after? That way you can still see her and celebrate together."

Ned frowned. "But she wants to go! She's never been camping before. And she's really brave. Being around a bunch of guys isn't gonna scare her."

Ned's father patted his shoulder. "I know, and I know you want her to be there. It just isn't a good idea."

Ned considered suggesting that he could invite Nancy's two best girl friends, too, but when Nancy was around them, she had to divide her attention between Bess and George and Ned. Ned was imagining sneaking off into the woods and Nancy being with him, and how awesome she would be at suggesting adventures. Nancy could always find something interesting anywhere. There was nothing she loved more than a mystery.

He had no doubt that the camping trip would be good, but with Nancy, it would be a hundred times better.

A few weeks later, he discovered that he had been right. Oh, the camping trip was fun, and he enjoyed it. His father came along, and Robbie's older brother Charlie, and Joey's brother Steve, to keep an eye on all of them. Charlie made a camp stew that tasted like chili, and they played flashlight tag and made s'mores. When Ned crawled into his sleeping bag that night, he felt full of graham crackers and marshmallow and chocolate, and both keyed up and exhausted. He didn't want to go to sleep, and if he could just rest his eyes for a moment...

His last thought, before he finally succumbed to how tired he felt, was that it would have been ten times as much fun with Nancy there.

He told her so, the next time he saw her. It would have been so much easier to spend time with her if they were attending the same school, but Ned's family was in Mapleton and hers was in River Heights. It would be easier, too, if they didn't have to have their parents drive them to see each other; it was too far to travel between on their bikes.

Nancy sighed, jealous, as she propped her chin on her hand. "I've never played tag that way," she said. "It sounds like so much fun."

"It _was_ fun. It was really fun. I wish you had been there." Ned took another bite of his peanut butter and crackers. "Maybe your dad would let you go camping for your birthday?"

Nancy appeared to consider it, then shook her head. "Bess would never go for it," she declared. "She _hates_ getting dirty and not looking pretty. And camping is kind of dirty, isn't it?"

Ned shrugged. "Well yeah, a little, but it's worth it."

"I don't mind getting a little dirty sometimes."

"Like when we snuck into that house on Pine?"

She grinned. "It was good practice," she said. "Besides, maybe I'll be locked out of the house one day and need to get in. Did you have fun?"

He nodded. "It was great," he told her solemnly. "Hey... since you're coming over for my birthday anyway, why don't you sleep over? The tent's in the garage. We can take it out in the backyard and set it up, and it'll be like we're camping, a little."

Her blue eyes brightened. "That would be fun. And I can learn how to set up a tent!"

Ned laughed. "It's a lot of work and it isn't really all that fun," he told her. "But it's worth it once it's done." He smiled at her. "You're the coolest girl I know," he told her.

She ducked her head and smiled. "And you're a pretty awesome guy," she told him.

Ned wasn't sure why he didn't want to tell his parents about their plans to camp out in the backyard. Maybe because, for as long as he could remember, whenever Nancy stayed over it was in another bedroom. Maybe because they might have had some other reason to objecting to her going on the earlier camping trip, besides her being nervous as the only girl there.

But he liked having a secret with her. He liked the little grin that was just between the two of them when she walked through the front door at his house, her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Ned," she told him, and her small grin became much larger.

"Thanks, Nan."

"Nancy! Thank you so much for coming over," Ned's mother told her. "Ned, honey, take her bag?"

The camping trip with his guy friends had been his party; Nancy had come over for the celebration Ned had with his family. For the longest time it had been just the three of them, a cake his mother made herself, whatever Ned requested for the meal before that, the gifts his parents gave him. Having Nancy here made Ned feel almost nervous. He had never cared about his birthday so much before.

While they were eating dinner, though, Ned saw that look on Nancy's face as she watched Ned's mother. His heart ached for her. Nancy had always seemed fascinated by Ned's mother, and more self-conscious than usual. When the two of them were alone together, it wasn't that Nancy was impolite; it was just that they were so excited to see each other that they talked so quickly, picking up on what the other person was thinking, in a way that Ned had only experienced with a few other people. Tonight, Nancy was quiet, putting her fork down between each bite of food, smiling as she replied to the questions Ned's parents directed at her.

It felt like it wasn't _her_. But Ned was the same way around his parents, especially when they had company, and so he wondered if she saw him the same way.

Ned knew that his mother had been friends with Nancy's mother; that was how he and Nancy had become friends, when Nancy was still practically a baby. When Nancy came over, sometimes Ned pulled out the special photo album, the one that had a few photos of Ned on his mother's lap and Nancy in her mother's arms, sitting next to each other on a park bench, the two women grinning, and Nancy and Ned looking at each other. The way Nancy touched the plastic over the photo, so quiet as she gazed down at it-he knew she wished she could remember. Ned could remember it, but mostly as impressions: the cool breeze, Nancy giggling.

After dinner, they played a new board game Ned had been given for his birthday. Ned's parents played too, and they laughed and joked and teased each other. Ned knew other guys whose parents didn't play with them at all; if they were lucky, they had older siblings who would hang out and play with them.

After Ned's father won the game with a chance roll of the dice, Ned's mother laughed and shook her head. She looked beautiful to Ned, and Nancy was laughing too. They weren't sore losers. "I think it's about time for your birthday cake, sweetheart," Ned's mother told him. "What do you think?"

Ned nodded eagerly.

"Then stay right here. I'll be right back."

"Want me to scoop out some ice cream too, honey?" Ned's father asked.

"That would be great, Jim."

Nancy looked over at Ned, and they were alone for practically the first time that night. "So everything's ready for tonight?" she whispered.

Ned nodded. "I found the tent earlier," he whispered. "And some flashlights!"

Nancy grinned. "Thanks for inviting me," she told him. "It's been a lot of fun."

"And you haven't even tasted the cake yet," Ned said.

"Oh, believe me, I can't wait for that either," Nancy said, and her eyes were bright.

Nancy had eaten cake many, many times at Ned's house, and Ned's mother's cake was great, always-but he still found himself worried when she walked in with it. Nancy immediately said it tasted incredible, and Ned felt himself relax. It really did taste great. His mother's double chocolate cake had always been Ned's favorite.

After two more rounds of board games, Ned's mom showed Nancy to the guest bedroom so she could change. It felt like hours before Ned's parents announced they were going to bed, and Nancy and Ned waited for a few minutes before they headed out to the garage. They were both wearing flannel pants and long-sleeved pajama shirts, and Nancy had her hair up in a ponytail.

When they were lugging the tent supplies out to the backyard, Ned glanced over at her and smiled. He never thought of her as younger, even though she was definitely shorter than he was; she was just so smart.

He wasn't disappointed when they started trying to set up the tent. She figured it out quickly, and once it was completely assembled, Nancy and Ned grinned at each other.

"We did it!" She held up her hand so he could give her five.

"You're a natural. Seriously. I hope we can go camping for real soon."

She nodded. "Maybe we'd find some clues!"

Ned grinned again. "If you were along, I know we would."

Ned had only been in the backyard at night a few times. His mother's garden looked so different in the moonlight. The treehouse his father had built for him the previous summer looked strange and almost mysterious. An owl hooted nearby, and Nancy and Ned both glanced up.

"Do you want to see what the treehouse looks like?"

Nancy glanced up, then nodded. "I'm game if you are."

The night was cool enough that, once they were in the treehouse, he was actually a little chilled. Nancy rubbed her arms through her shirt, and when they sat down, Ned wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh! I brought your present with me—it's in my bag, though. Down with the tent and my sleeping bag."

"Thanks. I can't wait to see what it is."

"I hope you like it. If you don't, just tell me and I'll find something else."

"Nan, you're the best at presents. Every present you've given me has been great."

"And you are too. Whenever I take home that box of cookies your mom gives me at Christmas, Dad and Hannah are always excited. And I wear that spray you gave me all the time."

Ned smiled. "That's cool. I'm glad."

They could see over the fence, into other yards, the lit windows of other homes, the sweep of headlights on the road. Ned knew some of their neighbors, but he and Nancy turned it into a game, pointing out houses and imagining what might be going on inside. Nancy said that the house two doors down, the one that had stood silent but not for sale for a while, belonged to a secret agent. She was away in a foreign country, trying to find a lost princess. The house beside that one belonged to a man who loved painting _everything_ , not just canvases or normal things. The kitchen cabinets, the floor, the ceilings, were all painted. Another house belonged to two brothers who were raising ten children they had adopted.

It wasn't chili and s'mores and flashlight tag, but Ned laughed until his stomach hurt and Nancy was laughing too, and Ned was just so happy. He wanted to stay up all night and see the sun come up with her. He just didn't want to stop listening to her voice or seeing that light in her eyes.

Then she smothered a huge yawn, and apologized, her eyes wide. "I'm so sorry," she said. "It's just, we played tennis earlier, and I guess I must be a little tired..."

"And cold," he pointed out, when she shivered. "Let's go get in our sleeping bags."

He had never slept in the same place as her. As he zipped up his sleeping bag and crawled inside, watching her do the same in her own, he felt strange. He had always entertained her when they were together, or he had followed her lead when she had wanted to investigate something. It felt weird to be in the tent with her, but it was a good weird, not a bad weird.

Nancy sighed as she settled down and turned onto her side to face him. "I don't want to go to sleep," she murmured.

"Me either."

"Oh! I almost forgot..." She sat up and opened her bag, and brought her hands out grasping a wrapped present. "Happy birthday, Ned. Thanks for inviting me tonight."

"Thanks for coming," he told her, and as soon as she handed him the gift, he tore into the wrapping. Based on its size, he suspected what it might be...

"Oh, cool," he breathed.

"You like it?"

He nodded, grinning. "And the knobs..."

"Hannah and I were at an antique mall and we found it. It didn't feel stiff like the one at the regular store."

Ned nodded. He was holding a labyrinth puzzle; he could hear the silver spheres inside. He had tried one out at a friend's house, but his friend hadn't liked it; the controls were stiff and jerky. Nancy had played with one at her grandmother's house, and she had adored it.

"Thanks, Nan. I can't wait to play with it tomorrow, when I can see it. It's really neat."

Nancy beamed. "Maybe we can race each other," she suggested.

"No fair! You've already had a lot of practice," he said.

"Scared you'll lose?"

"Yeah!" Ned laughed. "But it'll be fun to watch you play too. I'm sure you're fantastic at it."

Nancy was quiet for a moment, as she settled down in her sleeping bag again. "You're one of my best friends," she said softly. "And when I'm here and I get to see your mom, I kind of feel... like my mom is near me too."

Ned reached out. "I think she is," he said. "All the time. I wish you remembered her. I wish I remembered more about her to tell you."

Nancy reached out too, and took his hand. "I wish you lived next door," she sighed. "That would be perfect."

Ned nodded. "We could do this all the time during the summer," he pointed out. "If you were right next door. We could catch fireflies and play flashlight tag and go exploring. And it would be _awesome._ "

Nancy grinned. "It would," she said. "Ned... when we're grown up, we should do that. We can get houses next to each other and see each other all the time."

"Yeah!" Ned squeezed her hand. "That would be great. When you're a famous detective."

Her grin became a smile. "Maybe. Or a doctor. Or a lawyer like Dad."

"Or all three."

"I'd have to go to school, like, a billion years for that. And... Bess and George could live with me too. And you'd have friends at your house?"

Ned searched her face. "Maybe," he said. "But... do you want to get married someday?"

Nancy made a "hmm" face. "I don't know," she said. "It's been me and Dad for so long. And I like that I'd be able to do what I wanted. It seems like when women get married they have to stay home and clean the house and take care of babies. And I want to go look for clues and help people."

Ned swallowed. "Maybe you'll meet a guy who wants you to have that too."

"But we'd have to... sleep in the same bed?" She wrinkled her nose. "You're the only guy I could ever imagine sleeping beside."

Ned smiled. "Same here."

Nancy stifled a huge yawn. "I wish we could stay up all night," she whispered, closing her eyes.

"Me too," he whispered, and he only closed his eyes once her breathing had become soft and even as she slept.

* * *

"Ned? Where are we..."

"Shh. Just a few more steps..."

Nancy blinked when he brought his hands away from her eyes. "Surprise," he murmured behind her.

She had known that something was up when Ned had suggested that they go, not back to his place, but to his parents' house. She had been even more sure when the house had been dark as they pulled up. And then he had insisted that he cover her eyes as he guided her out to the backyard.

She gasped as she saw it: a tent made of white sheets, glowing golden from within. "So this looks very romantic," she commented, glancing back at him.

"I thought it was appropriate."

"To celebrate our first date after graduation?"

"Mmm-hmm." He pulled back the flap and gestured for her to come inside.

The grass had been covered by a white sheet, and on top of that rested a pile of faded pastel floral comforters and hand-stitched quilts and some pillows. It looked so comfortable that she just wanted to sink down onto it. All around them flickered small white candles.

"Oh, Ned..."

"Have a seat."

She took her shoes off and fell onto the pile with a giddy laugh, and Ned moved beside her. She looked over at him and her heart rose at the sight of his familiar, handsome face.

"So do you remember... oh, twelve years ago or so? Your first camping trip?"

Nancy chuckled. "My first practice camping trip," she said softly. "Which happened... approximately right here, I believe."

"Mmm-hmm." He reached for her hand. "And then we woke up and my parents were standing there and we were still holding hands."

Nancy kissed his cheek and gave his hand a little squeeze. "And neither one of us understood why they looked so worried."

Ned smiled. "That night, you said we should live next to each other," he said. "So we could see each other whenever we wanted."

"Yeah. I remember something about that. And... how you were the only guy I could imagine sleeping beside."

"Yeah."

Then Ned sat up, reaching into his pocket. They had had a good date; dinner had been delicious, their conversation lively. Now, in the flickering candlelight, her boyfriend's skin warm in the glow, she very much wanted him to kiss her, and she thought it would very likely happen soon.

He pulled something out of his pocket, and Nancy's heart began beating harder. She looked from his face to the glittering object between his fingers.

"You're the only girl I've ever slept beside," he said. "And you're the only girl I _want_ to sleep beside. For the rest of our lives."

He extended his hand, and her own hand moved slowly as she reached for it. He placed the ring in her palm, and she felt a lump rise in her throat.

"I was just hoping that... we wouldn't need to have separate houses."

Nancy looked up at him, laughing, closing her fingers around the ring as she pushed herself up and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Well, we could try sharing a place," she suggested. "But only because you're a pretty awesome guy, Ned Nickerson."

He hugged her back, and she heard the smile in his voice as he spoke again. "And you're an amazing girl, Nancy Drew," he said. "So... is that a yes?"

"Yes. Yes," she replied immediately, sniffling as she pulled back. "Yes. You know that."

He smiled. "I was really, really hoping."

She leaned forward and gave him a long, sweet kiss, then slid the ring onto her finger. "So our camping trip meant a lot to you, huh," she murmured.

"That night, when I saw you sleeping beside me... I just knew I wanted to protect you, to be with you. I wasn't in love with you yet... but I think a part of me was."

"And now all of you is," she suggested, smiling.

He nodded, then brushed the tip of his nose against hers. "And now all of me is," he murmured.

"Good," she whispered, just before his lips met hers. "Because all of me is in love with you too."


End file.
